Libya: LNA Chief Khalifa Haftar reportedly passed away in Paris

Libya’s warlord and chief of self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) Khaliaf Haftar has died in Paris after being whisked to a hospital of the French capital over a cerebral bleed caused by a heart attack, local media Libya Express reports.

Haftar, Field Marshal aligned with the country’s unpopular east-based administration and internationally recognized parliament, House of Representatives (HoR), was flown to Paris on Tuesday from Jordan for medical treatment, east-based officials confirmed, while his office dismissed the reports.

UN support mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has denied reports of Haftar’s death. UNSMIL head Ghassan Salame reportedly spoke with the Libyan warlord on Friday.

Libyan Observer, a media close to the Government of National Accord (GNA); Libya’s UN-backed government, posted pictures of people celebrating in capital Tripoli Haftar’s death.

Haftar was admitted to Paris military hospital of Val De Grace for treatment of an alleged cerebral bleed following a stroke.

The death of the 75-year military commander is yet to be confirmed by Libyan officials.

Haftar was a former close military aid of Muammar Gaddafi; the country’s longtime strongman brought down in 2011 in NATO-backed revolution.

He fell out with Gaddafi in 1990s and moved to the US for several decades where he got an American citizenship. The army commander is said to be a CIA asset.